Few ingredients and more intense flavours are the hallmarks at Janse & Co., award winning chef Arno Janse van Rensburg’s latest venture. Step off Kloof Street and start a journey down a rabbit hole…
CAPE TOWN’S KLOOF STREET is a favourite haunt for the young and the restless but, until now, perhaps not somewhere you’d expect to find a darkly stylish fine-dining restaurant in a space formerly occupied by the Ocean Basket. But stroll past the hipster hangouts and you’ll come upon an understated entrance presided over by a smiling yet no-nonsense doorman. This is Janse & Co., award-winning chef Arno Janse van Rensburg’s new venture. Quite a change from the bucolic vista of The Kitchen at Maison in Franschhoek, where he was executive chef for six years.
“I learnt a lot at Maison, but it was time to move on and run my own restaurant. We looked at over 30 sites in town – Loop Street, Bree Street, Woodstock, Salt River, Gardens, Vredehoek – before we settled on this one. We needed a fairly large space to do the things we wanted – the wine display and charcuterie fridges, and the equipment for all the fermentation we do – we make our own miso and soya sauce, among other things.” “We” refers to Arno and his wife, Liezl Odendaal, who is also a trained chef and previously national head chef for the Weylandts cafés and, before that, pastry chef at boutique hotel Ellerman House in Bantry Bay.
This story is from the March 2018 edition of Woolworths TASTE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2018 edition of Woolworths TASTE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Award-winning Food: Trending Plates
Fine-dining takes on both nostalgic and African ingredients - from Cremora and polony (yes!) to okra and beetroot - were food trends singled out by the judges of the 2022 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards.
Everything you need to know about quinoa
If it was good enough to sustain the Incan armies - and NASA's astronauts - you'd better believe this protein-rich seed will see you through your afternoon slump.
PIGS IN BLANKETS
The kids will love these quick-and-easy snacks that won't break the (piggy) bank.
82 words on...
THE FROZEN APEROL SPRITZ is the hottest way to keep cool this summer, says Jeanne Calitz.
MEET ME AT THE RIVER
Plan a visit to the new Mukwa River Lodge on the banks of the Zambezi to experience Zambian food with a twist, courtesy of head cook Aaron Menezes and four passionate members of his kitchen team.
FIRE STARTER
Celeb TV chef Clem Pedro - of Afternoon Express and Expresso fame takes the art of hosting to pro level and not because he went to hotel school or worked for TASTE, but because he started in his mom's kitchen. We asked him to share his food nerd roots and family braai secrets.
PLANTS IN PARADISE
Former Durban creative (and one-time carnivore) Neil Roake and his daughter Jordan's epic travels led them to collaborate on the all veg cookbook Castaway. They shared their meat-free adventures on the Filipino island of Siargao with TASTE.
ΤΟ MAY-ΤΟ, ΤΟ MAH-ΤΟ
Midsummer tomatoes are impossible to resist, we know. So when you find yourself with a bounty of exotic varieties - heirlooms, Italian Romas, ripe Mediterraneans and sweet Rosalinis - Hannah Lewry is here to help.
HOME TRUTHS
At her Joburg eatery, established in the iconic former Women's Jail at Constitution Hill, Mpho Phalane has worked to create a space that both honours the historic site and feels like home. She spoke to Khanya Mzongwana about the food journey that brought her here.
Morogo magic
Budget-friendly indigenous leafy greens - fresh, sautéed or preserved for later use are on Mokgadi Itsweng's menu at this time of year.
